Filipino director Lav Diaz says Gaza oppression ‘debacle’ of truth, humanity

By Salih Seref, Batuhan Parin and Asiye Latife Yilmaz

DOHA / ISTANBUL (AA) – A pioneer of the "slow cinema" movement, Filipino director Lav Diaz said it is important to seek the truth in cinema and that everyone should fight against the ongoing oppression in Gaza.

“It's a nightmare. Of course, we're doing something about it. But it is that kind of trajectory at some point we must eradicate,” Diaz told Anadolu on the sidelines of an event hosted by Qatar Film Institute in Doha.

Israel has killed more than 50,000 people in Gaza since the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attacks, and rendered it almost uninhabitable.

Diaz said there has not been enough global response to the devastation in Gaza.

"It's a great debacle on the side of the truth and humanity, what's happening in Gaza. The fact alone that most of the victims are children, that's the worst, that's the worst crime that you can ever do to humanity. These very innocent young people dying, living in this earth with nothing. What a waste. It’s evil.”

He said one day he might make a film about what is happening in the blockaded enclave.

“I think every work that I did is dedicated to those kinds of atrocities. I just hope that one day there will be someone left to tell the story. But the thing is, you can never, as long as people keep fighting, you can never bury the truth. Humanity has that kind of resilience to keep fighting for the truth,” he said.

- 'There's still a lot of things to fight on, especially on the issue of truth'

The director, known for making films of record-breaking length, said he worked as a journalist in the Philippines at a young age and urged to keep fighting for the truth.

“You guys will be telling the story. You're the next generation. You have to tell the truth, keep fighting with the truth. That's why the truth is very important. Don't let go of the truth. Because if you let go of the truth, it's gone. Every time I wake up, I keep questioning myself. Maybe I'll stop making cinema, but no. There's still a lot of things to fight on, especially on the issue of truth.”

Diaz, emphasizing that he remains hopeful despite everything, said: "But there's hope, we can keep fighting. That kind of atmosphere at some point corrode and destroy the bad vibe, you should have that kind of perspective. Just keep going and everything bad will go at some point, just have that positive vibe.”

He said he visited Istanbul for the Bogazici Film Festival, expressing his love for Türkiye, and that he would love to come again.

Diaz’s work delves deeply into themes such as social injustice, the complex layers of the human spirit, and collective memory, creating a unique language in world cinema.

He blends colonial history, local myths, and the individual's existential struggle through a poetic narrative.

The filmmaker won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival for Norte, the End of History and The Woman Who Left. With a minimalist approach, long take sequences, and natural lighting, he draws the audience in, offering a multi-layered narrative influenced by music and literature.

Diaz’s works have resonated at major festivals such as Cannes and Berlin, drawing attention to universal human issues from a local perspective.